


Maybe One Day [We'll Be Free]

by immoralities



Category: Free!, Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: And is protected, Fluff, Haru is adorable, M/M, Multi, Overprotective Akashi, Overprotective Rin, Rin and Akashi are brothers, SO MUCH FLUFF, and it's wonderful
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-19
Updated: 2016-06-19
Packaged: 2018-07-16 01:46:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7247215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/immoralities/pseuds/immoralities
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Akashi brothers, Seijuurou and Rin, are to be feared.</p><p>Haru hopes that maybe one day, they won't be.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Maybe One Day [We'll Be Free]

**Author's Note:**

> Self indulgent fluff of Free/KnB because I think Akashi's eye and Rin's shark teeth are badass. 
> 
> Jumped around a lot here because hello self indulgent shit. 
> 
> Feedback is appreciated. Enjoy! 
> 
> (Not edited because I am lazy)

 

     Kagami got that the miracles were weird, and even though he'd heard of the ominous and slightly freaky Akashi brothers, Seijuurou and Rin, he hadn't really thought anything of it. Seijuurou was apparently younger than his brother, but just as frightening, if not more so. Kagami got that, but he didn't fully acknowledge it till now, and while that was a good thing, something he could put to use-

     He did not expect it to come in the form of a fucking pair of scissors _flying_ at his damn face, thank you very much.

     'Freaking Midorima and his fucking lucky items,' Kagami cursed internally while wiping away the blood on his cheek.

     There was a strained silence that followed after Seijuurou's whole 'I always win speech.' Rin stood at the top of the stairs behind his younger brother, shark teeth glinting maniacally in the light.

     It all seemed to be the start of a horror movie, and while Taiga would've done one of two things: fight the bastards or get the hell out of dodge, a smooth, deep voice spoke up, the sound mocking,

     "Sei, calm down a bit, I think you're scaring the little one."

     It was Rin who had spoken, and Kagami, still slightly in a state of shock, didn't register the words until the younger Akashi raised his eyebrows and looked at something behind Taiga himself, eyes gleaming sadistically, but seemed to soften in the slightest.

     "Ah, Haruka, you're back already?"

     It was then that everyone turned and a number of different reactions came from the Miracles and others around them. Furihata's cheeks turned a bit red, Midorima and Aomine muttered what sounded like an 'of course,' Murasakibara only said the name, "Haru-chin," before continuing with his snack, Kise's nose started to bleed as he squealed a bit (because when was he ever calm?), and even Kuroko let out what seemed like a gasp, while Kagami simply stood there confused.

     A boy was standing there where they all looked, the apparent 'little one' Rin had been referring to. He was about the same age as Kuroko, height just surpassing the shadow's, yet still not considered quite average. The white and sky blue jacket that he adorned was clearly a Rakuzan one given to team members, but it was also obviously not his own from the way it swallowed him, hanging off his shoulder as well as keeping the dolphin shirt he wore underneath a little more hidden. Deep blue eyes stared at them all, and while his blank expression could rival Kuroko's quite nicely, the slight fear in his irises was noticeable.

     All in all, he was very....what was the word Kagami was looking for? Cute? Well, while that was true, there was more than that. He seemed a bit too....pure (and many had called Taiga himself too pure before-so he figured he'd know).

     "Haruka, I asked you a question."

     And everyone seemed to remember the powerful duo currently in the area at the moment, yet the teenager, 'Haruka,' apparently (and wasn't that a girls name?) lost all the former feelings of fear and simply sighed, bunching up his fist in the jacket sleeve that covered his hand as he turned his head to the side (was he....pouting?) as he mumbled something under his breath.

     "Speak up, and look me directly in the eye when you do so. I don't like being ignored Haruka."

     Akashi's tone was more forceful then, although as his voice remained terrifyingly calm. Even so, Kagami may have been sort of a dunce when it came to reading people (which is why he tended to piss them off more than not) but Seijuurou reminded Taiga of Tatsuya. Himuro kept up a poker face through everything he did-including talking, and while the current situation made it seem as if the younger Akashi was mad, Kagami could easily tell that nothing would happen to Haruka if he didn't follow the order.

     But he did anyway.

     Seeming to sigh in exasperation, the blue eyed boy looked up, raven black hair swaying a bit in the wind as he did so.

     "Yes, Sei. Makoto, Nagisa, and Rei got our seats, but I wanted to find Rin because I'm pretty sure Sousuke got lost again and I don't know where to look-also I think Nagisa's scheming something, and I didn't want to be around when shit hit the fan."

     He knew he should've seen it coming, but Kagami was still taken aback by Haruka's voice, which matched the monotonous tendency of Kuroko, yet was still emotional enough to be filled with annoyance.

     Looking back to the younger Akashi, Taiga swore he saw-and he knows he did-the red head's lips quirk into an almost genuine smile before they settled back into that chilling grin.

     "Watch your language Haruka, or there will be consequences."

     At that, the blue eyed boy simply gripped the jacket he had on tighter as he nodded his head, mumbling a small 'sorry' while looking down, clearly embarrassed to having to say it all (it seemed he didn't apologize much, Kagami observed, and coming from himself that was rich).

     When this occurred though, Seijuurou's glowing eye seemed to dim a bit, and at that moment he turned to his older brother, looking up at him from bottom of the stairs and nodded his head, to which Rin smiled gleefully, shark teeth and all.

     "Haru," Rin called the apparent nickname of the raven's name, to which he looked up immediately.

     Rin smiled wider, sweeter, eyes closing as he did so while he opened his arms a bit, and in that second Kagami thought he looked, sort of, not-so-life-threatening.

     "Haru," the older Akashi called again, "We'll find Sou, come here now."

      Haru blushed a bit then-the most emotion he'd shown the whole time-turning his face down, and for a moment Kagami thought he might insult Rin for ordering him around (the Seirin ace definitely would've).

     Instead, however, Haru quickly (and with surprising grace that Taiga couldn't hope to possess anywhere but the court-and even then it was a fifty-fifty chance he wouldn't slam his face into the basket rim again) made his way up the stairs and buried himself in Rin's arms without even an ounce of hesitation.

     Rin let his smile twist into a light smirk at this, one hand going to rest at the back of Haru's head which was pressed against his chest, and the other wrapping around the smaller boy's waist. When his eyes landed on the jacket Haru wore, Rin's smirk seemed to widen, and it was then Kagami realized the Rakuzan coat belonged to the older Akashi himself.

     The whole thing might've been cute, if perhaps, there wasn't an oddly possessive glint in Rin's eyes as well as Seijuurou's, and if Kagami didn't know that the siblings were complete and utter psychos.

      Of course, the Miracles all looked upon this spectacle as if it was an everyday occurrence (which it probably was).

       "Nanase-kun," Kuroko's soft voice cuts through the silence then, and in doing so, Haruka lifts his head up and looks the teal haired boy's way, dark blue irises giving no heed to what's being felt unlike moments before.

     "Tetsu," Haru calls, using the same nickname as a certain navy haired boy, "You left."

     The words are said with little venom-barely any feeling at all really-and yet, Kagami can't help but sense a pain in his gut.

     Kuroko doesn't reply, and Haruka doesn't continue, content to lean further into Rin's chest, appearing unaware of the glint in the taller's eye. Although, Taiga observes vividly, the raven haired boy most likely knows what both the Akashi siblings think, what they're doing, why it's wrong.

     'But why won't he do anything?' Kagami questions to himself, eyes narrowing on the three in front of him.

     And then, Haru speaks once more.

     And then, Kagami understands-more or less.

     Because the hot headed basketball player doesn't get a lot of things-school or anything related to education, dangerous situations and risks, limits, and a multitude of others-but in these next words, he gets it.

     "I understand," Haru says, looking at Kuroko, whose eyes widen in the slightest before he goes still, "And Kagami Taiga," he looks to said man then, tone meaning nothing, but gaze  
meaning everything-

     "Good luck. Take care of Kuroko. We need him."

     Everything seems to go to Hell after that point, though.

     Behind Kagami, Furihata is hyperventilating, on the sides, the Miracles are openly gaping, and the Akashi siblings-well-

     They look ready to kill.

     Akashi is still smiling, yet his gaze is directed at Haru now as his golden eye gleams with uncontrollable heat, while Rin is all teeth-but not grinning anymore. His hold on Haruka looks almost painful, but that's probably because Nanase is so much smaller than him. In reality, the blue eyed boy is simply curled against Rin's chest, whispering words of calm and steadiness.

     By the time everyone had gathered their sanity (and Taiga's still unsure if the Akashis' even had theirs to begin with) Haru is sandwiched between the siblings, still looking to be completely done with the situation, Akashi is facing him, spitting out words a mile a minute that are too quiet to be heard at a distance with Rin standing behind the boy, arm secure around the smaller's waist while also resting his chin upon Haruka's head.

     Kise is shaking in a corner, Midorima is clutching the scissors Akashi had let go of (thank freaking god) so tightly Kagami's kind of afraid he'll rip through his bandages, Aomine-usually lazy and drawn head first into stupid shit-actually looks on the verge of a panic attack (as if Furihata having one wasn't enough), and Murasakibara has stopped asking for food, eyes widened significantly.

     As Kagami looks to Kuroko, he sputters as he finds the former phantom man pale-well more than usual anyway-and staring at the scene before him with an unreadable expression.

     "Kuroko!" Kagami whispers in a harsh tone, snapping said boy's attention to him, "Why is everyone panicking?"

     The shorter Seirin player seems to blink back into reality at that, standing up straight as a passive look once again settles on his features, gaze hardening.

     "Nanase-kun," Kuroko whispers in reply, "Has been with those two much longer than any of the Miracles. He has a certain.....power over them with the way he responds to things. He's quite like you, Kagami-kun, with only two things on his mind; sports and food."

     The Seirin ace is really unsure whether he should be offended or not, so he simply chooses option C; ignore and move on. As he does, Kuroko speaks once more.

     "Even so, those two, well, Akashi-kun, our captain, hasn't acknowledged you as anyone yet, and having Nanase-kun do so is unacceptable. His older brother though......ah, Rin has always been a bit overemotional, as well as incredibly obsessed with Nanase-kun. That's why he seems a bit possessive. Also, since Akashi-kun's change in middle school-Rin seems to have changed as well-and Nanase-kun has been doing his best to control them. He's probably the only one that can at this point."

     _'Well_ ,' Kagami thinks, ' _Fuck_.'

 

\----

 

     'This,' Haru muses to himself, 'Is why I don't speak much.'

     He takes this observation in value as Seijuurou's hand rests against Haruka's back, and Rin's arm wraps around his waist. It's nothing new, and while the swimmer is more or less uncomfortable with so much physical contact, these two are the exception-they always have been (Makoto as well, but should the brothers ever realize that, well, Haru might have to worry for his best friends well being).

     As such, Haru takes the whole thing in stride, enjoying it more so as Yamazaki, who they had found wandering around (lost, of course), stands beside the three stiff, still not used to the displays of affection after all these years.

     (And although Haru and Sousuke are somewhat friends now, it's always a comfort to see him miserable sometimes.)

     "Haru-chan!" Nagisa shouts after they make it to their seats, jumping up and waving excitedly as Rei sits beside him, shocked from the sudden outburst and glasses askew while muttering, "Nagisa, calm _down_."

     Haru simply gives them a nod, turning to his green-eyed friend next, and of course receiving a sweet, close-eyed smile in return. Out of the corner of his eye, Haru hears more than sees Sousuke choke a bit, and the swimmer wants to roll his eyes because seriously Yamazaki _grow some balls._

     While they wait for the game to start, Haru finds himself staring at Rin more than not, and with this he realizes it's been happening more often. But, it's always been like this really.

   They all met while young, and Rin and himself had always had some sort of rivalry that eventually grew into real fights and arguments and so much drama-

     And suddenly, Rin's anger was for a whole different reason after they had all made up in middle school.

     He was constantly jealous, constantly touching, and while Seijuurou was much the same, Rin took it to a different level.

     What the two liked about Haru so much, he'll never know, and he'll never ask because something tells him-fear, instinct, maybe-that questioning their reasoning would not end well.

     As it is, Haru just wants his friends-old and new-to just.....feel some happiness again, some resemblance of the life they had before they were the Miracles, before Akashi prioritized winning over everything else,

     And before Haru became the only thing the brothers had to hold on to.

     But, he can only hope that Kuroko will be the one to do so.

 

\----

 

     Seirin won against Touou.

     Haru thinks that maybe Akashi will finally acknowledge Kagami now.

 

\----

 

     It's the morning of the day Rakuzan plays against Seirin, and Haruka wakes as he usually does; in the Akashi mansion, pressed against Rin's chest on the too big bed in the too big bedroom that's all too silent.

     He doesn't really remember when sleeping here became the norm, but it seems to make Rin less irritable during the day, and Haru's house is much too lonely anyway, so it benefits both of them.

     Although, everything is not as it usually is, as Haruka also feels a heated weight against his back, and he smiles fondly because Akashi (Bokushi, Oreshi, whoever he chooses to be at the moment) doesn't like to admit weaknesses, so he instead seeks warmth, and Haru is willing to give him some.

     Sandwiched between the two slumbering brothers, Haru gives himself time to think about what the outcome of this match might mean.

     If Akashi wins, and there's a high possibility he will, it's likely that nothing will change, but Haru's already prepared for the worst.

     If Kuroko wins-no, Haruka corrects himself-if _Seirin_ wins, then maybe everything will slowly begin to change.

     Maybe Kise's captain will carry him with a smile. Maybe Murasakibara will ask Himuro for something more than candy. Maybe Midorima will reach out to Takao rather than brushing him off. Maybe Kagami and Aomine will meet off court as a bit more than rivals. Maybe Sei will look at Tetsuya the way he should.

     And maybe Haru will finally be able to hold on to Rin for more than the reason that it keeps him-keeps _them_ -together.

 

\----

 

     Seirin won. Akashi smiles-truly, genuinely smiles. And after what feels like forever, Haruka can swim again and be free.

 

\----

     He kisses Rin right after the match, and as Haru feels tears that are not his own drop down his face, he thinks that maybe they can finally move forward. Maybe they're not stuck anymore. Because that's what they've always been up until this point, _stuck_.

 

\----

 

     It's six months later, and Haru has never felt the urge to draw as much as he does now.

     They're all sitting on an empty basketball court, and by all, he means all.

     Kise and Kasamatsu sit side by side, Yukio scowling, and the blonde next to him laughing loudly as he pulls the other closer.

     Murasakibara sits with Himuro half in his lap, a small smile twisting at his lips as the shorter wipes away some left over food from the side of his mouth, kissing the spot thereafter.

     Midorima rolls his eyes as Takao puts on his glasses again, reaching a hand out and grabbing his waist to pin him down as he tries not to grin.

    Aomine lazily throws an arm around Kagami's shoulder, lips against the redhead's temple because he can while the other blushes furiously and curses at him with fondness rather than fire.

     And Seijuurou. He and Kuroko sit in their own corner, their own world, foreheads pressed together intimately as Akashi speaks soft words and Tetsuya listens carefully. As it should be.

     Beside Haru, Sousuke has his faced buried in Makoto's neck while the green eyed boy giggles at something that was said, and the freestyle swimmer wants to cough out a whipped at that, but decides not to ruin the sweet moment.

     Behind him, Nagisa hangs off Rei's back, whispering in his ear things that turn the butterfly swimmer red and-okay enough of that.

     It's the most beautiful thing Nanase has ever seen.

     And while Haru himself sits in Rin's lap, clutching that Rakuzan jacket that's too big, he has to swallow down the urge to cry because this is the sight he's been waiting to see.

     Burying his head in the crook of Rin's neck, Haru breathes out shakily and let's a tiny grin take over his features as a kiss gets set to the top of his head.

     Maybe this is all they need.

**Author's Note:**

> Kind of want to make this a series of one shots just because it's cute.


End file.
